The lively atmosphere abruptly turned cold. Even Lu Yun, who had remained expressionless while standing beside Jiang Lingyuan, frowned slightly.
Jiang Lingyuan, however, maintained her gentle smile.
“Thank you, Mother.”
It was obvious how unwilling the Eldest Madam had been to accept this marriage. But Jiang Lingyuan had already achieved her objective. A few cold looks meant nothing. Besides, the Eldest Madam’s behavior only confirmed that she wasn’t the calculating, scheming sort.
Compared with the Eldest Madam, the Second Madam was much more interesting.
Before Jiang Lingyuan had even fully knelt, the Second Madam hurriedly pulled her to her feet.
“Oh my, we’re family now. There’s no need to be so formal! From the moment I saw A-Yun’s wife from afar, I thought a fairy had descended to earth. How can there be such a lovely beauty in this world? I simply adore you.”
She praised only Jiang Lingyuan’s appearance, saying nothing else.
Jiang Lingyuan lowered her head slightly.
“You flatter me, Second Aunt.”
As for the gift, it came in a rosewood box. There wasn’t time to inspect it closely, but Jiang Lingyuan knew it couldn’t be especially valuable. Given the Second Madam’s personality, if it had been anything truly precious, she would have made sure everyone knew about it.
The Third Madam, whose husband was the Duke’s illegitimate third son, and the Fourth Madam, whose husband had died young, both behaved appropriately. They treated Jiang Lingyuan politely, though without any particular warmth.
For Jiang Lingyuan, that was already enough.
The tea ceremony had been free of open confrontation. At worst, she had been treated coolly. Compared with life at the Jiang residence, this was already much better.
As for the younger generation, she only needed to exchange formal greetings with her three elder brothers- and sisters-in-law. Her eldest sister-in-law, the wife of the legitimate eldest grandson, kept an obvious distance from her as the Fourth Sister-in-law.
For the younger brothers and sisters, Jiang Lingyuan had prepared greeting gifts according to their degree of kinship. Though every gift was presented in the same red lacquer box, she noticed them casually handing the boxes off to their attendants without even looking inside.
It was clear they hadn’t taken her gifts to heart.
Still, the tea ceremony passed without incident.
From this day forward, Duke Yu Manor officially acknowledged her as a member of the family.
At lunch, the Eldest Madam didn’t deliberately make things difficult for Jiang Lingyuan. She merely had Jiang Lingyuan symbolically serve her a single bite before dismissing her.
Of course, Jiang Lingyuan knew the Eldest Madam simply couldn’t be bothered to have her waiting on her. In any case, the morning had gone far more smoothly than she’d expected. By the time she returned to Yilan Courtyard, her steps were noticeably lighter.
Just as they reached the courtyard entrance, Lu Yun spoke.
“I’ll introduce you to the servants working in the courtyard.”
Thinking of the little tricks played on her the previous night and that morning, Jiang Lingyuan knew there was little point in meeting them now. Smiling, she said, “Fourth Master, I’m rather tired and would like to rest for a while. Perhaps another day.”
Lu Yun raised an eyebrow, unable to guess what she was planning, but he didn’t press the matter.
“Very well. Get some rest. I’ll be going to the front courtyard.”
Meanwhile, Nanny Jin and the others, who had prepared countless speeches in advance, felt as though they had punched a pillow, their efforts landed on nothing. In the end, they could only grit their teeth and let the matter drop.
Jiang Lingyuan wasn’t using fatigue as an excuse.
From the moment the wedding date had been set until now, she had constantly been matching wits with others. Only now could she finally breathe a small sigh of relief.
Having already bathed, she reclined on a chaise lounge while Michun massaged her head and Xunxia worked on her shoulders and arms.
Closing her eyes, she asked, “So there’s still another senior maid in Yilan Courtyard who’s only responsible for the small kitchen now?”
“That’s right,” Xunxia replied. “The maids and senior servants in Yilan Courtyard are divided into two factions. One is led by Nanny Jin. Since she’s Fourth Young Master’s wet nurse, she holds the greater authority. The other is Nanny Hu, who oversees the kitchen. She was assigned by the Old Madam.”
“As for the four senior maids, Lu’e is the head maid. She’s already engaged to Lin Feng, the steward of the front courtyard, and they’re said to be marrying this April. Xiangxue was sent by the Eldest Madam and has always been intended to become Fourth Young Master’s bedchamber maid. As for Shuanghua and Hongsang, we haven’t found out much about them yet.”
“I see.”
Jiang Lingyuan nodded.
“I’m going to take a nap. When I wake up, have Nanny Hu come see me.”
For now, she intended to leave Nanny Jin and Xiangxue alone. She would wait until she fully understood the situation before taking action.
Unlike Nanny Jin, who dressed herself in gold and jade ornaments, Nanny Hu was much more understated. She wore a light green cotton jacket with a brown skirt, her hair combed into a neat round bun secured with a silver plum blossom hairpin.
She stood quietly with an expressionless face.
Jiang Lingyuan smiled.
“I should thank you for what happened on my wedding day, Nanny Hu.”
When Michun and Xunxia had gone to fetch hot water that day and been stopped, it was Nanny Hu who had spoken up for them. It had been Nanny Jin, on the other hand, who hurried to the front courtyard to report the matter and summon Lu Yun back. As it turned out, Lu Yun hadn’t cared in the least that Jiang Lingyuan had removed her bridal veil before he arrived.
Nanny Hu’s expression remained unchanged.
“It was only this old servant’s duty.”
Jiang Lingyuan didn’t dwell on the matter.
“I’ve only just married into the family and know very little about the household. I’ll have to rely on your guidance.”
“I wouldn’t dare claim to guide you,” Nanny Hu replied. “If Fourth Young Madam has any questions, please feel free to ask.”
She still wasn’t particularly warm.
Jiang Lingyuan understood that no one in the household thought much of her. After all, in everyone’s eyes, she was merely a “country girl” with nothing especially remarkable about her.
She wasn’t offended. Instead, she smiled pleasantly.
“I can’t think of many questions just yet. But when I do, I hope you won’t find me troublesome.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
Realizing there was little point in continuing, Jiang Lingyuan dismissed her. She had Xunxia present Nanny Hu with a reward pouch before seeing her out.
As soon as Nanny Hu left, Michun remarked,”We still have too few people on our side.”
Jiang Lingyuan nodded.
“Yes. Let’s wait until after tomorrow’s return visit.”
That evening, Lu Yun was occupied in the front courtyard. Lu’e came to inform Jiang Lingyuan that she should eat dinner by herself. Although Lu’e remained respectful, she was far from friendly.
As for the evening meal, the kitchen likely knew that the Fourth Young Madam wasn’t particularly favored by Lu Yun. The dishes they served were ordinary and uninspired.
Jiang Lingyuan naturally wasn’t accustomed to such fare. She ate only a few bites before deciding that after returning to her natal home, she would speak with Lu Yun about bringing over the attendants she was used to having by her side.
She didn’t see Lu Yun again until after breakfast the next morning.
Today was the customary return visit to her natal family.
The return gifts prepared by Duke Yu Manor followed the family’s usual standards. They were neither lavish nor stingy.
Jiang Lingyuan, however, had never been close to the Jiang family, so she didn’t care in the least.
The two sat on opposite sides of the carriage throughout the journey to the Jiang residence, silent the entire way.
There was none of the sweetness or intimacy one would expect from newlyweds.
Meanwhile, the Jiang family was waiting in full force.
In truth, ever since Jiang Lingyuan’s maternal grandfather had perished in a shipwreck while leading an overseas expedition years ago, the Jiang family’s fortunes had steadily declined.
Now that Jiang Lingyuan had finally married into a ducal household, they naturally intended to seize every opportunity to strengthen their ties with the Duke Yu Manor.